The Book Club will meet Tuesday, January 9, 2018, at The Park, to discuss Mikhail Bulgakov's novel, THE MASTER AND MARGARITA, in which Satan arrives in both Roman Jerusalem 2000 years ago and in Moscow in the stalinist 1930's and turns out to be the most interesting and dramatic dude in town (think Milton's PARADISE LOST).
The Kunming Book Club has a wechat group in which many regular attendees participate, but meetings are open to all. Readings, locations and times of meets are chosen by attendees. New participants welcome.
That's creeping up on Chinese New Year, so you might want to check early on tickets to Jinghong. From Jinghong on you can probably just buy tickets the day before at the bus station.
Yahoo is not a brilliant site for news, but it works consistently for me here - perhaps there was a glitch for a week or so once, but that was a long time ago, can't quite remember.
I am a foreigner and at my local PSB I have never needed my landlord to go with me to register, I just needed lease and photocopy of his ID the first time, when I moved in. Later trips in and out of the country, I just had to show up with my passport - did this last week.
@blue: Your link - what, you think everybody can be an entrepreneur? What about all the people who are needed to allow entrepreneurs to go about 'their' business?
Another side of volunteering, which is implicit in your article but not clearly stated, is that when you refer to 'education' it is not a one-way street - the volunteers can get educated as well. This perhaps also happens to volunteers in such programs as those that fly 'volunteers' from wealthy areas of the planet to faraway, poorer destinations merely to spend 3 weeks or so working on a project in a hands-on capacity - however, virtually all of the benefits of such an approach go to the relatively-wealthy 'volunteer', who doesn't stay long enough to make a serious impact and for whom the expenses and waste of resources for transportation alone probably cancel out the immediate value of any benefits to local people. However, if you're travelling or studying abroad anyway, a chance to participate in the sort of programs you mention here seems like a good idea and a way to benefit everybody.
In the past the attitude of Chinese representatives within the Greater Mekong organization was pretty much that China could do whatever it wanted on rivers within its own territory - just another example of how nationalist 'rights' are not sufficient for handling a globalized world.
@Mike: You've got a good point, but increasing the insulation of pipes would mean really a lot of work and money to take care of the many buildings in Kunming that don't have sufficient insulation at present. Fine idea for new buildings, but then I think we've got more than enough new buildings going up, and construction uses a hell of a lot of water.
Not quite what you'd call a jumping place, but not bad at all for rather standard US-type meals, not overly expensive, and with a really good salad bar that's cheap, or free with most dinner dishes after 5:30PM. You can get a bottle of beer or even wine if you really want to, but I've never seen anybody do it - maybe that's just to take out. Chinese Christian run, and they hire people with physical disadvantages, who are pleasant and helpful. Frequented by foreign (mostly North American) Christians and Chinese Christians - was started by a Canadian couple associated with Bless China (previously, Project Grace), who are no longer here, but no religious pressure or any of that. Steaks are nothing special, and I avoid the Korean dishes, which I've had a few times but which did not impress me.
As a shop and bakery, it's very good bread at reasonable prices, of various kinds (Y18 for a good multigrain loaf that certainly weighs well over a pound. Other stuff too, like granola and oatmeal that is local, as well as imported things, including American cornflakes and so forth, which some people seem to require.
Large portions, seriously so with the pizza, which is Brooklyn/American style, I guess. Convivial, conversational, good place to drink with good folks on both sides of the bar, especially after about 9PM.
Exploring the world of voluntourism
Posted by@blue: Your link - what, you think everybody can be an entrepreneur? What about all the people who are needed to allow entrepreneurs to go about 'their' business?
Exploring the world of voluntourism
Posted byAnother side of volunteering, which is implicit in your article but not clearly stated, is that when you refer to 'education' it is not a one-way street - the volunteers can get educated as well. This perhaps also happens to volunteers in such programs as those that fly 'volunteers' from wealthy areas of the planet to faraway, poorer destinations merely to spend 3 weeks or so working on a project in a hands-on capacity - however, virtually all of the benefits of such an approach go to the relatively-wealthy 'volunteer', who doesn't stay long enough to make a serious impact and for whom the expenses and waste of resources for transportation alone probably cancel out the immediate value of any benefits to local people. However, if you're travelling or studying abroad anyway, a chance to participate in the sort of programs you mention here seems like a good idea and a way to benefit everybody.
Water release at Yunnan dam sparks SE Asian alarm
Posted byIn the past the attitude of Chinese representatives within the Greater Mekong organization was pretty much that China could do whatever it wanted on rivers within its own territory - just another example of how nationalist 'rights' are not sufficient for handling a globalized world.
Mid-Autumn Festival, a celebration of family and harvests
Posted bySee the Arthur Waley translation - his are always better.
As rainy season comes to a close, reservoir levels look encouraging
Posted by@Mike: You've got a good point, but increasing the insulation of pipes would mean really a lot of work and money to take care of the many buildings in Kunming that don't have sufficient insulation at present. Fine idea for new buildings, but then I think we've got more than enough new buildings going up, and construction uses a hell of a lot of water.